Machine for threading bands in staves.



D. E. VANVAGTOR. I MACHINE FORTHBEADING BANDS IN STAVES.

APPLIGATION nun JULY 1a, 1908. I

Patented July 13, 1909.

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APPLICATION FILED JULY 18, 1908.

Patented July 13,1909.

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n. E. VANVAGTOR.

MACHINE FOB. THREADING BANDS IN STAVES.

' APPLIGATION FILED JULY 18, 1908.

927, 9 Patented July 13, 1909.

4 SHEETS-EH33! 4.

I 2 Li A 42 if 9 Z6 1 DAVID E. VANVAGTOR, or ineos, INDIANA.

L MACHINE on HREAmne Bruins n waves.

in w e- Specification of Letters Patent.

EatentedJuIy 13,

Application filed July 18, 1908. Serial No. 444,285.

To allwhomttmay-concem: g 1

it known thatI, DAvInE. VANvnoToR, a cit zen of the United States, residmg at .Argos, inthe county of Marshall andState of Indiana, have'invented certairi'new and useful Improvements in Machines for 'Tlhreading"Bands in Staves,--of which the followingis a"description, reference being had to the accompany ngdrawings, formlng apart of this specification, in which corre spondingcharacters ofreference in the dif ferent figures indicate like parts.

is provided foreach b'and along theleng'th of the column; the requisite number of staves for a given post being assembled and supported in a suitable form constituting a part of the machine, said form beingso constructed as {to permit the bandsto enter the holes inthje first and to protrude from those in the last stave.

Furt-h'e robjects are to provide means for simultaneously feeding I any predetermined number of bands requisite for a -column of given length, for inipartingthere'to the proper curve to cause them tofollow the holes in the successive staves, in the event that said liolesare curved, for severlng said hands when threaded, so as to enable" the opposite ends to be conneeted to bind the staves together, andlior so pointing or shaping the severed ends as to "facilitate the threading,the severing and shaping of all the bands threaded beingfalso simultaneous.

Moreover it is my object to provide means for automatically 'stopping'the machine whentherequisite lengthof' wire is fed thereto.

I1 accomplish saidaobjects by means of the combined elements hereinafter more pa1ticularly described and definitely set forth in the claims.

Inthe drawings, Figure 1, is a transverse :vertical sectional view showing a support .ing"standard and stave-holding form for holding stavesin position to be threaded, the staves,-as well as the band-feed1ng mechan sm be ngshown as sectioned in the plan view, partly in'section, of a portion of the machine, showing parts of two of the stave-holding forms, corresponding" feed rolls, and the automatic stopping'de vice for arresting the actionof *the driving mechanism whelrrequisitelengths ofbands are fed through thest'afves, portions of the guiding and cutting mechanismbeing removed, Fig.

3, is a transverse "vertical" sectional view taken upon the line 3 Fig. 2,Fig. 4, is a like sectionalv'iew taken upon the line 4 Fig. 2, Fig. 5, ma section view taken upon the line 5 Fig. 1, viewed in the direet-ionof the arrow there shown, Fig. 6, indicates a seet ionftaken upon the line 6'-6, Fig. 5, F ig. -7 isa view of thelevers for actuating I theband cutting and swaging median-ism,

Fig. 8, is a perspective View of one "of the cutting and forming dies, Fig. 9, a central longitudinal sectional view of the stave holding form, taken upon the line 9%.9, Fig. '1,"Fig.10,is an enlarged vertical section corresponding to a portion of "theview represented in Fig. 1, showing the wirebending rol'lsand "one of thewire cutting and forming dies, and Fig. 11, is a plaiiview, partly in section, of a'ino'dified construction representing a simple formof driving-mechan-isni, said View being represented "as if takennpon line 1111, Fig. 1."

Referring to the drawings, 1, Figs. 1, 2 and?) 'i'epresents a horizontal bed-plate c0.nsisting ofafiat bar extending throughout the length of themacliine. 'Said bedplate is supported upon suitable standards l which are rigidly attached to tliefloor; the number being varied to conform to the length ofthe'inachine. Bolted to the upper face of the bed plate l are a series of short standards'l Fig. 1,to the upper end of ea ch of which isbolted a stave-holding form generallydesignated byQ, Figs. 1, 2, 9 and 10, said formbeing composed oftwo parts '3 Y and 1, the former of which is bolted to said'bed-plates as stated, while the latter is hinged thereto as shown at 5,F-igs. 1 anus. A latch 6, mounted uponan ec centric 7, fitted in lugs upon the part a, isadapted to engage "a pin "9, upon lugs 10,,formed upon the part 3, which enables the two' partsof the form tobe locked togetherfortliejpurpose hereinafter stated. Passing through the series of forms lengthwise of-"the maehin'e', is a removable rod 11,11pon which is'mounted a plurality o f'counterpart forms or eo'res 12 cide with the forms 2, to the periphery of each of which cores is secured, within a groove, a yielding cushion 13, preferably formed of india rubber or other elastic material, for the purpose hereinafter stated. The inner face of each of the several forms 2 comprising the parts 3 and t, is, in the pre ferred construction shown, made to describe a volute, to which the outer face of the core forms a counterpart, the space between being intended for the reception of the staves let, which are held therein in convolute form. In order to insert the staves, the parts 1 are unlatched and thrown back, the rod 11, with the cores l2 thereon removed, when the staves 1 1, are laid into the lower hal of the form, edge to edge with their backs resting against the inner faces of the parts 3. The rod 11, with the cores, is then placed in position, with the staves thus located, when additional staves necessary to form the intended structure are placed in position with their inner faces against the core.

My improved machine is adapted to operate upon staves previously punched or bored for the reception of bands, the holes therein having been gaged from the back face, as well as from an abutting end. Said staves are, therefore, placed in the machine with the same ends from which they were gaged when punched, abutting against a stop 14, Fig. 2, which consists of a vertical plate having horizontal supports 14*, rigidly attached thereto and provided with slots 1 1, for the reception of bolts 14, by means of which it may be adjustablyand rigidly attached to the bedplate. The adjustable feature enables the stop to be so placed as to cause the holes to register with the band feeding guides hereinafter described. WVhen the staves are properly placed in the forms and gaged, the parts 4 of the forms are closed and locked by means of the latches 6. The inner faces of the staves being thereby firmly pressed against the yielding elastic cores, which results in pressing the back faces of the staves against the inner faces of the encircling forms and insuring an accurate registration of the holes in the adjacent staves; it being 'iinderstood that any variation in the thickness of the staves is provided for by the action of the elastic cores.

In the example illustrated, it will be seen that the staves are accurately supported in convolute form with the meeting edge of the last stave outside of and away from that of the first, so as to permit the ends of the bands to enter the holes in the former, and to protrude from those in the latter.

A threading guide, generally designated by 15, Figs. 1, 5 and 10, is formed upon and adjacent to each of the parts 3, said guide having a bore 16 therein, which is tangential to and in registration with the bores in the staves. Bearings blocks 17 Fig. 1, are bolted to depending extensions upon the parts 3, in which blocks are supported parallel shafts 18 and 19.

The driving shaft 18, which will be here inafter referred to in describing the'automatic stop mechanism, is connected with the driven shaft by means of intermeshing gears 20, 21, by which they may be caused to rotate in unison. A slide block 22, better shown in Fig. 11, adapted to be adjusted by means of a set-screw 23, is arranged to bear against the shaft 19, for purposes of adjustment. Feed rollers 25, 26, Figs. 1, 2 and 5, are mounted upon the shafts 18 and 19, opposite to the several guides 15. Said feed rollers are provided with counterpart peripheral grooves 27, so placed that the space between them will register with the bore 16, in the guide 15. to receive a wire 28, Figs. 1, 5, 6, 9 and 10, and feed it into the guide bore 16, and thence into the bores formed in the staves, as shown in Fig. 1. 3

By means of the set-screw 23, and block 22, the pressure of the feed-rolls upon the wire may be adjusted as desired, a spring 23 in conjunction with bar 23 being interposed to avoid any possible variation in pressure which might arise from irregularity in the rolls. 7

It is obvious that, if the wire were left straight, it might fail to follow the curved stave holes and thereby defeat the object intended. It is, therefore, essential in the construction shown, that it should be given such a bend as will cause it to follow the curve of the holes without deflection. This result may be accomplished by the following means: Formed in the upper portion of the guide element are recesses 28, 29 and 30, better shown in Fig. 10, which communicate with the bore 16; the recess 30 being upon the opposite side of said bore from the others. Rollers 31, 32 and 33, are mounted upon suitable bearings in said recesses respectively, the roller 33, being upon the opposite side of the bore 16, from the others and having its axis in a plane midway between them. The roller 32, has its bearing in a U-shaped support- 34, which, in turn, is connected with an adjusting screw 35, tapped into the fitting or frame portion. By turning said screw, any desired pressure may be made against the wire, thereby imparting thereto the requisite curve.

Having described the parts for holding the staves and for feeding, bending and threading the wire, with the exception of the automatic mechanism, I will now describe the means for cutting the wires and forming the ends. Slidably fitted in a horizontal hole formed in the wire guide behind the bending rolls, and coinciding with the path of the wire, are oppositely disposed cutting dies, generally designated by 36 and Said grooves areadapted 37, Figs..1, 5, 6, 8 and 10. The meeting ends of said dies are provided with counterpart cutting edges 38, better shown in Fig. 8,

which converge at the center, and are also provided with notched portions 89 between said cutting edges and arranged in the plane of 'the axiso'f the wire. Said cutting'edges serve, when the cutters are forced together, not only to sever the wire, but to cut notches from opposite: sides thereof, so that if' the wirewere not swaged, each of the severed ends "would beTwedge-shaped. "Simultaneou'sly, however, with the cutting action, the notched dies same forced againstthe opposite ledgesaof the wedge and serveto swage thenrso that theftapered portion is made round with a somewhat blunt pinpoint. Upon the "outer, end of each of the parts 36, and 37, 'is' formed a collar 40, Figs. Sand 6, said collars serving as bearings for coiled springs 41,fitted in recesses 42, which actto normally hold the cutters away from the wire. Levers e3, 4:45, the latter of which is also sliowninFigs 1 and 10,'are pivoted at parts 3. -Ta5pped. into the end of the short arm of each of saidlevers, is an adjusting screw 48, whichbears against the outer end of the cutter body, and is secured in any desiredpositionby means of lock-nuts 49. The

long "end of the lever Bus jointedly connected :1.t50,.Fig. 6, to ahorizontal'bar 51, while the corresponding arm on the lever 44L is olntpivotedat 56 to a lug 57, at one end of'the frame of the machine. The corresponding end of the bar'58 isconnected 1n llke manner at5S, with a likelever 59 connected with;

thesame lug and'arranged parallel to the lever 55. Handles 60, 61, enable said levers to beactuatedindependently of each other,

7 thereby permitting the bars to be moved longitudinally.

it isdesirable that its movement should be autonjiatically arrested as soon as the requisitelongtlrofwireto properly connect and fasten the staves together is fed into the holes. This' result may be accomplishedbv the following described means: Mounted looselyupon the shaft 18, which is extended beyond its fellow, is afdriving pulley, 62, Figs. 2 and 3, having a clutch member 63 adapted to be engaged by a counterpart clutch member 645 splined upon said shaft and adapted to slide longitudinally thereon; Apcollar 65, is rigidly secured to theshaft and servesas an abutment for a coiled spring 66, which is interposed between"said collar and the sliding clutch member 64,and tends to. cause the engagement of said members whelrtheyare nototh'erwlse heldput of contact. A bar 67 is arranged parallel to the shaft 18, being rigidly supported upon arms 68, Figs. 1, 2and 3,which are-bolted to the base-plate. Loosely mounted upon theb'ar 67 is a slide, generally designated by-69,"the body 70 of which is bored to receive said bar. Integrarwith said slide portion is a collar 71, jwhich is loosely fitted in a groove 72, formed in the periphery of'the clutch member 64. A split-nut consisting ofjaws 73, 7a, is pivotally and slidably mounted upon the bar 67, each of said jaws being provided with internal screw-threads adapted i to engage a screw-threaded portion" 75, uponthe shaft 18. Arms 76, Figs. 1 to 3-inclusive, areformed upon said jaws and are normally held apart by meansof aninterposed coiled spring 77 thereby causing the threaded jaws to engage said screw. Said de'viceis adapted to slide upon the part 70. Adjust ably attachedto' the part '70, by meansof a set-screw 78, is a collar 79, Fig.2, between Which and a washer 80, abuttingagain'stthe split-nut, is a coiled spring 81, whichexceeds in power the'spring 66, for the purpose hereinafter stated. Formed upon'jthecollar 71 is an arm 82, Fig. 4:, whichisbored to receive a pin 88, having an enlarged head 8%. A diminshed portion 85 is formed upon said pin, which is adapted to enter bore 86, also shown in Fig. 2, in thebar 67. A collar 87 is attached to the body portion,be-

tween which and the arm 82, is interposed a coiled spring 88, which tends to pressfhepin downwardly into the bore '86, when in registration therewith, to hold the clutch member 64 out of engagement as hereinafter I stated.

The operation of my improved machine is as follows The staves having been placed in the forms and locked in place as herein before described, and the wires2S,forthe several forms having been placed between the feeding rolls 25, 26, the operatort-hen grasps the arms 7 6, Figs. 2 ands, of the 1 ?split-nut and presses them together when 1 In the ()PBFZLUOII of my improved machine,

said nut is moved toward the left to itsrequired position for engagement. The arms are then released when the threads of the f nut engage those of the screw portion 'ofthe shaft. At this time the spring 81 being expanded, its influence upon the slide '69, is

practically 'm'Z, while the spring 66 is under compression. The driving pulley 62 is as fsumed to be continuously rotated. The operator then graspsthe head 84 of the locking pin and withdraws the'latter'from the jbore 86. The'spring 66, being then free to act, forces the clutch-member 64 into engagement with its fellow,thereby actuating ,the driving shaft 18, and with it,the-feedrolls, which causes the several 'wires 28 to ]be unwound from their respective reels, not showmand to be simultaneously fed through 1 the guides and bending rolls and' thence' into and through the respective stave holes until the ends project from the holes in the last stave of the series, when the motion of the driving mechanism is arrested through the following described action of the automatic stop mechanism. The rotation of the driving shaft serves, through the action of the screw 7 5, to move the split-nut to the right into the position shown in Fig. 2. This action results in the compression of the spring 81 and the consequent movement of the slide (39 and collar 71, thereby disengaging the clutch members and moving the slide until the reduced portion 85 of'the locking pin is caused to enter the bore 86, thereby holding the clutch out of engagement, with the spring 66 compressed ready to throw the clutch member 64 into engagement when the slide is again unlocked. The spring 81, being more powerful than the spring 66, overcomes the resistance of the latter when sufficiently compressed by the action of the split-nut, resulting in a sudden disengagement of the clutch and a consequent stoppage of the feeding mechanism. As soon as this occurs, the operator grasps the handles of the cutting device, 60, 61, and simultaneously moves them in opposite directions. This action causes the bars 51, 53, to be correspondingly actuated, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 6, which, in turn, serves to move the levers 43, as, thereby forcing the cutters upon the cutter-bars 36, 37, which are normally held apart by the springs 41, against the wires 28. Assuming the adjusting screws 48, to be properly adjusted, the action will be uniform with all the cutters of the series and all the wires will be simultaneously severed and the points swaged into the tapered form as described. The staves are then removed, the forms refilled and the operation repeated.

lVhile I prefer to use the automatic stopping mechanism described, I do not limit myself thereto inasmuch as the machine may be operated without it, but in a less satisfactory way. In Fig. 11 I have shown a modification in which a driving pulley 89 is attached directly to the shaft 18. By employing the usual belt shifting mechanism the machine may be controlled by the operator, provided that care be taken to watch the feeding of the wires.

lVhile I have shown a stave-holder of convolute form in cross section, I do not wish to be confined thereto, as it is obvious that any construction whereby the meeting faces of the first and last staves may be separated to permit the bands to enter one and protrude from the other, may be employed without departing from the principle of my invention. Moreover, it is only necessary to arrange the staves in a curved form when the holes therein are curved instead of straight, but inasmuch as I prefer the curved edge to edge, said machine comprising in combination a stave holding element for holding the staves with their edges juxtaposed to permit the holes therein to register with eachv other, band feeding devices adjusted to guide and feed the bands into and through said holes, and means for actuating said feeding devices.

2. A machine of the class described, in which is combined a stave holding form for holding staves with their edges adjacent to each other without bending the bodies of the staves, said staves having band receiving holes therein extending from edge to edge, the holes being held in registration by said form, band guides adjacent to one edge of one of said staves, said guides being in registration with the holes therein, and means for feeding bands through said guides into and through the respective registering holes.

3. A machine of the class described, in which is combined a stave-holding form, band guides arranged to register with curved holes previously formed through the staves from edge to edge thereof, means for feeding bands therein through said guides, and means for imparting a curve to said bands to conform substantially to the curve of said holes.

4. A machine of the class described, in which is combined a clamping element for rigidly securing a number of staves having beveled edges with said edges in such relation to each other as to cause the body of each stave to lie in a plane at an angle to that of the one adjacent thereto, each of said staves having a plurality of holes therein extending from edge to edge for the reception of retaining bands, means for adjusting said staves to cause registration of the holes, and means for simultaneously guiding and projecting bands into and through said holes.

5. A machine of the class described, in whichis combined a stave-holding form, band guides arranged to register with holes previously formed in the staves, means for feeding bands therein, and means for severing said bands to permit the removal ofthe assembled staves with the bands therein.

6. A machine of the class described in which is combined a stave holding form arranged to hold the meeting edges of the ffirst and last staves apart from each other to permit the entry and exit of bands into and from holes previously formed from edge to edge of the several staves and means for threading bands into said holes.

7. A machine of the class described, in which is combined a stave-holding form arranged to hold the meeting edges of the first andlast staves away from each other, i to permit the bands to enter the holes in the first andto protrude from those in the last stave, means for adjusting said staves to cause registration of the respective series of holes and means for snnultaneously threada ing hands into the holes.

8. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a stave-holding form arranged to hold the meeting edges of the first and last staves away from each other, to

1 permit the bands to enter the holes in the combination of a stave-holding element,

ulirst and pass out from those in the last stave, means for causing end registration of the staves, feed [rolls for simultaneously actuating all of the bands, guides for said bands, in registration with the stave holes and means for simultaneously severing all of said bands.

9. In a machine of the class described, the

holes formed in the staves, feeding mechanism, means for arresting said feeding mechanism when the bands are inserted and means for severing said bands.

11. In a machine f the class described, the combinationof a stave-holding form, means for threading a plurality of bands from a continuous source of supply, into holes formed in the staves, feeding mechanism, means for arresting the same when the bands are inserted, and means for simultaneously severing the bands.

12. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a stave-holding form, means for threading a plurality of bands, from a continuous source of supply into holes formed in the staves, feeding mechanism, means for arresting the same when the bands are inserted, means for severing the bands and means for tapering the entering ends of the bands for the next succeeding set of staves.

13. A machine of the class described in which is combined means for holding a plurality of staves having band-receiving holes therein with the edges of said staves in juxtaposition and the holes in registration, band-feeding devices adjusted to guide and feed bands into said holes, means for actuating said feeding devices and means for automatically arresting the same when the bands are inserted.

14. A machine of the class described, in which is combined convolute stave-holding forms and means for clamping the jstaves therein, with the meeting faces of thefirst and last staves at different distances from the axis of the form.

15. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a form for holding bored staves with their meeting edges in juxtaposition, means for clamping said staves in place, and yielding means arranged to press against one face of the several staves to hold the opposite face against the form.

16. A machine of the class described in which is combined a convolute stave-holding form, for gaging staves with respect to band receiving holes therein, a counterpart yielding core and means for clamping staves in said form against said yielding core whereby the outer faces of the staves are caused to contact uniformly with the inner faces of the form.

17. A machine of the class described in which is combined a convolute stave-holding form, a yielding counterpart core, and means for compressing the staves against said core. In testimony whereof, I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscrib-. ing witnesses, this 16th day of July 1908.

DAVID E. VANVAOTOR.

Witnesses:

D. H. FLETCHER, CARRIE E. JORDAN. 

